2013 School Bus Ad Action Center

The commercialization of our schools could get a lot worse in the coming months.

Currently, only Texas, Arizona, Colorado, Tennessee, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Utah, Nevada, and New Mexico allow advertising on the exterior of school buses. Some others allow ad inside school buses. But more states are considering overturning their long-standing prohibitions on school bus ads in a misguided attempt to solve their budget deficits. The financial plight of schools is extremely worrisome, but turning school buses into traveling billboards for everything from fast food to violent and sexualized media is not the answer.

Please click on the links below to check out the status of school bus advertising in your state. (If it is no listed then your state is not currently considering a bill). Then follow the “Take Action” link to tell your legislators to keep school buses commercial-free.

FLORIDA: H.B. 1

STATUS: As of 2/12/13, this bill has been withdrawn by the sponsor. We received confirmation from Rep. Slosberg's office that he will not reintroduce the bill this session. See the bill history here.

SYNOPSIS: Provides for district school board policies that authorize certain commercial advertisements on school buses; provides policy requirements relating to reimbursement to school district, prohibited advertisements, & signage & equipment standards; requires school bus to be withdrawn from use under certain circumstances; provides for remittance & allocation of revenue.

SYNOPSIS:This bill requires the State Board of Education within the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to promulgate rules and regulations authorizing local school boards to lease advertising space on the interior and exterior of school buses. It prohibits: advertising containing obscenity, sexual material, gambling, tobacco products, alcohol, political campaigns or causes, public advocacy, or lobbying; advertising that promotes the use of drugs, any illegal activity, or antisocial behavior; advertising that contains general content that is harmful, discriminatory, false, misleading, or deceptive, not age appropriate, or otherwise not appropriate for school buses, as determined by the school board of a local school district; and advertising containing an endorsement, whether actual or implied, by a school district for a product or service. Junk food ads and ads for violent media would be allowed.

SYNOPSIS: Sale of commercial advertising space on school buses and real property. Permits a school board to sell advertising space on the exterior of school buses and real property with certain limitations. The limitations include requirements for the size and placement of advertisements on buses and prohibitions on any political, religious, or age-inappropriate advertisement. The bill requires the board to devote revenue from bus advertisements to the costs of transporting students and revenue from real property advertisements to the costs of constructing and maintaining school buildings.

SYNOPSIS: A BILL to amend and reenact §18-5-13 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to permitting county boards of education to sell advertising on the exteriors of school buses; setting forth the conditions to be met and prohibitions; requiring the county boards to adopt rules concerning the advertising; and setting forth how the revenue from the advertising is to be used. Ads for violent media and junk food would be allowed.